ESPN Talk Show Host: “Golf Is Not a Real Sport”

Let’s get one thing straight. Golf may technically be a game, but it certainly is a sport. However, a couple of ESPN personalities would beg to differ. During Monday’s episode of First Take, co-hosts Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman shared their scorching hot takes the day after Sergio Garcia’s major triumph over Justin Rose in a playoff. The central idea for this brilliant discussion was sportsmanship.

Smith set the early tone in true Stephen A. fashion by stating, “golf disgusts me sometimes.” Then he got into the fact Rose and Garcia were complimenting each other down the stretch during a major championship.

“This notion that we’re really not competing against each other. We’re really just playing golf and it’s really competing against the course. Nonsense,” he said. “There’s a game to be played. Each of you go out there to do it. You’re trying to compete at a level that eclipses the individuals that are also on the course. Last time I checked, that’s competition.”

Then, Max Kellerman checked in with the all-time classic: golf is not a sport!

“I would define a sport as a competition through which you accurately gauge the athleticism of its participants. And I don’t think that’s the case with golf,” Kellerman said. “Among its many flaws…this ain’t Ali going at Frazier. They’re not throwing punches. They’re not tackling each other. They’re not in each other’s way. Golf is not a zero sum game. It’s more like a standardized test.”

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